


Dying

by Ratt9



Series: KisaIta Drabbles [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Gen, M/M, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 00:22:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21065666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratt9/pseuds/Ratt9
Summary: Itachi tries to cover up his illness. Kisame knows.





	Dying

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lightningpelt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightningpelt/gifts).

Despite how hard the man initially tried to hide it, it didn't take a genius to see that Itachi was dying.

The increasing frequency at which he and Kisame needed to stop and rest during their travels had only been the beginning. There was no amount of ninja skill that could cover up the wet, heaving coughs in the middle of the night, gurgling blood and retching phlegm, nor the way his Akatsuki cloak had slowly begun to sag loosely over his quickly-thinning frame.

Though Itachi had always appeared older than his age, it had now become far more prominent; the long wrinkles running down his cheeks seemed to have deepened, emphasized by the dark shadows beneath his eyes from too many nights spent choking up blood into the toilet.

"Itachi-san," said Kisame, after a particularly bad spontaneous coughing fit that had left a sweat-soaked Itachi breathing heavily against a tree; the two missing-nin were exposed and vulnerable to the harsh sunlight along the border of Wind country. "Maybe you should see someone for that."

"I'm—" Itachi started, lowly, but stopped, cut off by the slight shake of his shoulders. He lurched forward, knuckles going white with the effort to steady himself once again against the rough bark of the tree.

"Hey now, take it easy," Kisame said, a grin on his face to mask his true concern. "I don't want to be hauling your corpse back over my shoulder."

Kisame glanced at his partner's face, expecting a glare of irritation; instead, he found only unfocused eyes and the clenched teeth of someone in pain. 

_Shit,_ Kisame thought, _the kid's doing worse than he's letting on._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading.
> 
> ~Ratt, 10.16.2019


End file.
